THE RESCUE SOCIETY

"B.C.'s Solicitor-General has ordered his staff to study the possibility of fining outdoor enthusiasts who enter out-of-bounds areas at ski resorts and in backcountry B.C."

Why study?

Why the possibility?

Why doesn't John van Dongen simply do what he should do?

"No new policy would be ready this winter because the idea requires a lot of discussion."

About what?

"Mr. van Dongen said he does not believe in forcing people who break the rules to pay for rescue efforts. "

Why not?

We force people to pay for traffic violations including the horrifying bad taste of parking for 62 minutes rather than the 60 you've paid for.

Of course, no one really ever pays these fines, which is why any city of any size in Canada typically has a backlog of about 300,000 unpaid traffic tickets.

Here's my idea.

The signs that say, "Ski area BOUNDARY, not patrolled," should instead say, "NO RESCUE ZONE. WANT BIG THRILLS? DIE AT YOUR OWN EXPENSE, DUMMY"

Of course,we would never do such a thing. We are a civilized caring society. We rescue almost everyone we can.

If you want to kill yourself with various narcotics, we will rescue you by giving you needles and crack pipes and mouth pieces and places to take your drugs away from the winter winds. If we can get away with it under the guise of "science" or progress or improvement or some such, we will rescue you by giving you your drug of choice or a near facsimile or a new pill or a baby lulu to suck on at the very least.

There are some rare exceptions, of course.

If you are old and cold and starving and living in a cardboard box on the street, we wouldn't want to force you to come in out of the storm. That might violate your human right to die in the cold.

But other than that we are the rescue society.

So keep schussing down those unmarked mountains in the avalanche zones, baby. Never fear, The Rescue Society is near.

It is your god given and charter blessed right to behave like a yahoo and be bailed out by taxpayer dollars and the efforts of men and women who put themselves at risk to save your sorry ass.

GAZA BY THE NUMBERS

Despite Hamas’s unrelenting rocket attacks, Israel continues to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, warning the civilian population to stay clear of terrorist sites. Said Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, "Israel has made it clear that we are fighting against terrorism, not the Gazan residents, and the extremists are the ones who are taking advantage of the concern of the humanitarian organizations and the international community as a means of pressuring Israel." [2]

Israel’s Humanitarian Aid to Gaza

396 truckloads of humanitarian aid that have been delivered through Israeli crossings into Gaza since the beginning of Operation Cast Lead, including basic food commodities, medication, medical supplies, blood units and donations by various governments and blood units. [3] 80 truckloads of humanitarian aid expected to arrive in Gaza on Jan. 5 [4] 20 Palestinians evacuated to Israel for medical treatment (including two children) [5] 800,000+ leaflets disseminated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to Gaza civilians instructing them to stay away from terrorist and weapons storage sites [6] 70+ times the IDF warned populated areas before conducting airstrikes [7] 10,000 tons of aid transported into Gaza at the request of international organizations, the Palestinian Authority and various governments since the beginning of Operation Cast Lead. The World Food Program informed Israel last week that that it would cease shipment of food to Gaza because warehouses are at full capacity, with enough food to last two weeks. [8] 0 wounded Palestinians allowed by Hamas to cross from Gaza into Egypt for treatment. [9]

Iran-backed Hamas Rocket, Mortar Attacks and Nuclear Developments

10,000+ rockets and mortars fired from Gaza since 2001. [10] 3,200+ rockets and mortars fired from Gaza in 2008 alone. [11] 6,500+ rockets and mortars fired from Gaza since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. [12] 538+ rockets and mortars fired from Gaza into Israeli territory during the ceasefire from June 19 to Dec. 19, 2008. [13] 480 rockets and mortars fired from Gaza into Israel since Operation Cast Lead began Dec. 27. [14] 28 deaths caused by rockets and mortars fired from Gaza into Israel since 2001. The dead include Israelis, Palestinians and foreign workers. Since the ceasefire ended, Iran-backed Palestinian groups in Gaza fired rockets and mortars that killed an Israeli-Arab construction worker and a mother of four who was seeking shelter in a bus station as a rocket warning siren sounded. [15] 1,000+ people in Israel injured from rockets and mortars fired from Gaza since 2001, including Israelis, Palestinians and foreign workers. Since the start of Israel’s defensive operation in Gaza Dec. 27, 90 Israelis have been injured and at least 244 have been treated for shock. [16] 20,000 Hamas terrorists Israel is targeting as part of its defensive operations [17] 1,000,000 Israeli civilians Hamas is targeting and can reach. [18] 15 seconds Israelis have to get to a bomb shelter once a warning siren has sounded. [19] 8 years Israel has endured rockets and mortar fire from Gaza [20] 3 mosques in Gaza used as weapons, ammunitions and explosives depots that were struck by the Israel Defense Forces during the operation in Gaza. [21] The strikes occurred only at night and never during prayer times, to avoid civilian casualties. 4 UN Security Council resolutions passed since 2006 to try to stop Iran from enriching uranium. [22] 5,000+ number of centrifuges operating in Iran to enrich uranium, the material used to produce a nuclear weapon. [23]

What Israel Gave Up in Hopes of Peace - Gaza Withdrawal Aug. 2005

100% proportion of the Gaza Strip evacuated and handed over to the
Palestinians. [24] 300 square miles of the West Bank evacuated. [25] 21 Israeli settlements uprooted in the Gaza Strip. [26] 4 Israeli settlements uprooted in the West Bank. [27] 48 graves uprooted in Gaza’s former Gush Katif Cemetery, including six graves of area residents murdered by terrorists. [28] 9,000 approximate number of Israelis, including 1,700 families, who lived in Gaza and the northern West Bank. All of them were moved out as part of the withdrawal. [29] 38 synagogues dismantled in the Gaza Strip. [30] 5,000 school-age children who had to find new schools. [31] 42 daycare centers that were closed in the Gaza Strip. [32] 36 kindergartens that were closed in the Gaza Strip. [33] 7 elementary schools that were closed in the Gaza Strip. [34] 3 high schools that were closed in the Gaza Strip. [35] 320 mobile homes, ordered by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, to serve as temporary housing for settlers. [36] 45,000 Israeli soldiers and policemen who participated in the Gaza withdrawal. [37] $1.7 billion the approximate cost to the Israeli government for the withdrawal initiative. [38] 166 Israeli farmers who were moved out of Gaza. [39] 800 cows, which comprised the second largest dairy farm in Israel, moved out of Gaza’s Gush Katif community. [40] $120 million value of flowers and produce exported annually from Gush Katif and lost following the evacuation. [41] 1 zoo, the “Katifari,” that housed hundreds of animals and was moved. [42] 10,000 people who were employed in agriculture and related industries in Gush Katif, including 5,000 Palestinians. [43] 60% proportion of Israel's cherry tomato exports that came from the Gaza Strip. Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza extinguished this economic resource. [44] 3.5 million square meters (almost 1,000 acres) of greenhouses abandoned in Gaza. [45] 70 percentage of Israel's organic produce grown in Gaza – another economic resource lost in the evacuation. [46] 60 percentage of herbs exported from Israel that came from Gush Katif. [47] 15 percentage of Israel agricultural exports that originated in Gaza – exports lost following Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. [48] $360,000 expected average compensation amount Israel expected to pay to relocate each family. [49] $870 million approximate cost for Israel to facilitate the resettlement of former West Bank and Gaza residents elsewhere in the country. [50] $500 million amount of money Israel's security establishment spent to relocate Israel Defense Forces bases outside the Gaza Strip and build new border crossing facilities. [51]

After Israel’s evacuation from Gaza…

430,000 West Bank Palestinians able to move freely within and between Palestinian-controlled areas. [52] 1 Israeli remaining in Gaza. Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit was abducted from Israel on June 25, 2006 by Hamas in a bloody cross-border raid in which the terrorists also killed two IDF soldiers and wounded four others. [53] 1.2 million Arabs who remained full and legal citizens of Israel. All Israeli citizens – Christians, Muslims, and Jews – have freedom of speech, religion, press, and the right to vote. [54] 1.3 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip many of them in Palestinian Authority-controlled refugee camps, who live under their own leaders. [55] 820,000 Jewish refugees forced to flee without their belongings from Arab countries between 1947 and 1949, and who have never been compensated by Arab governments for their losses. [58] 650,000 Arab refugees who left Israel from 1947-1949 and still need Palestinian leaders who will end terrorism and the culture of hate. [57]